Dawn Until Dusk
by pomegranateflower
Summary: [Somewhat AU] After years away from Forks, Edward comes back to see Bella, and meets someone else as well.


Title: _Dawn until Dusk_

Rating: G - PG

Summary: A What-if; gotta love those.

Notes: There are probably a million and one of these fics floating around, but I need a distraction from homework… :D

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He walked slowly, taking in all the changes Forks had gone through in the past century. It was amazing to him, how things changed so radically yet still held a glimmer of familiarity. The forests, once nearly suffocating the surrounding area of Forks, now were beat back and almost sad in how the never ending maze of forests and trees had thinned out.

But a welcome change he found was the many trees planted in the town, all bearing beautiful flowers that littered the ground in petals and a light, sweet perfume. After stopping to pluck one of these flowers from a low branch, he continued, absolutely nonchalant as he could be, in tan slacks and an open white shirt.

After a while he paused to relax against an enormous Oak, twirling the flower he had taken as he studied it closely. "I think she would enjoy you much more than I," he informed the plant seriously, though the tilt of his head allowed a stray light to cast a good natured shine on his dark eyes.

He continued on, before reaching his destination. He walked through the mazes of stone unperturbed, looking ahead and trying to only think about what a fine spring day it was. But, he finally saw what he had been both looking for and dreading. Next to one of the stones that showed visitors who laid here was a tall angel, carved to resemble its occupant when she was younger.

Edward smiled, remembering the headline in the newspaper, proclaiming the mystery of the anonymous benefactor who donated the statue, though no one ever found out who it was. Looking closer at the inscription, he saw that the bottom half of the angel had been overrun with ivy vines. Eyes suddenly narrowed in displeasure, he crouched down, (Edward could care less that he had just ruined an outfit worth hundreds of dollars) and easilycut through the vegetation.

_There._

Now he could see better, and with a sinking feeling in his dead organ of a heart, he read out loud, "Here lies Isabella "Bella" Swan - Moirette, Beloved Daughter, Friend, Mother, and Wife. 1988 - 2023." Somehow, Edward thought he could feel his heart (dead, useless thing) being shredded into millions of small pieces. Swallowing thickly, he pressed the flower to his lips, the stems already crushed into nothing but the flower itself still unharmed, and placed it carefully in front of the angel, almost as an offering.

Then he stood, but continued to look at the angel, imagining the young woman who had inspired the carving; her long dark brown hair, pale, translucent skin, her mysterious brown eyes -

Edward paused. Too many years had passed since he had seen her in flesh and blood, but how many times had he since regretted his decision? How many times had he tried to kill himself since he heard Bella - clumsy, danger-prone Bella - had died in pain from some sort of cancer? Had died thinking Edward had forgotten her? Had died before her time, had died before he could -

_Could what?_

Growling too low to be heard, he reached with an open hand, almost trembling, towards the face of the angel. One finger gently slipped down to move over the granite cheek, the stone satin smooth from the constant rain. _Would she have felt like this? A satin exterior covering the familiar hard marble of Vampire flesh?_ It was almost too painful for him to think about, but the pain burning in the pit of his stomach felt almost justified, after seeing what his decision had led Bella to.

_If I had known, had checked up on her, had found out before -_

Edward grimaced. He hated What-ifs - contemplating what could have been didn't help. But it was hard not to with a sister like Alice. But the what-if he considered was almost too much to bear - what if he had known she was sick? That she would have cancer and would die after so much pain and go through so much suffering to retain what little time she had left, before her life ended too soon. What if he found her, had changed her and whisked her away for good and never returned, spending eternity with his Bella?

_(Or what if he had changed her at the tender age of seventeen just like she had asked? They would have been forever seventeen together.)_

No matter her age - Bella was Bella no matter what physical form she had.

The venom would have healed her, and she would have been able to walk and move freely, and instead of looking down at her resting place they would have been anywhere - Paris, New York, Japan -

"Excuse me?"

The vampire felt the bottom of his stomach drop. The human behind him had such a familiar scent, entirely different from the freesia he longed to smell, but somehow, just a little similar…

He turned slowly, throwing the girl before him a charming smile, its effects tempered by sadness. "Yes? May I help you?" Edward waited patiently, his quick mind taking in the girl - her hair was cropped short and flowed freely around her shoulders, but appeared to be such a deep brown it was almost black, every strand looked like silk…Despite the small differences, like the girl's oval face, her strange violet eyes, and how her skin seemed a light cream rather than an almost ghostly shade, the girl had such a strong resemblance to Bella, Edward almost wanted to sweep the girl into a hug and never let go.

After a split second he realized the girl echoed no thoughts to him, something Alice would find very interesting indeed.

"Ah, yes, I was wondering how you know Isabella?" the girl asked. She held a sketch book in her arms, tilting her head to look at him with curiosity in her eyes. The resemblance was so painful for a split second Edward thought he might go insane - instead he looked at her forehead, studying her skin.

"My father went to high school with her - I came to pay my respects." He noticed her quicksilver glance to the flower.

"Really? But - you seem so young!" she replied.

"My father had me late in life," he answered, a small smile on his lips. _Her voice seems a little similar as well…_

"Oh," she said thoughtfully. After a moment she suddenly gasped, drawing Edward's attention. "Where are my manners!" she exclaimed. Fumbling for a moment to shift the book to one arm, she stuck out her right, waiting for him to shake it back cautiously before continuing, "My name is Ariel Swan."

"Edward Cullen."

A brow rose imperceptibly, but if Ariel had any suspicions she kept them to herself.

"Ariel," Edward began, "how do you know Ms Moirette?"

"Call her Isabella, please," the girl replied. "I'm her granddaughter."

_Well, that explains the resemblances._

"Really? It's so sad she died young," he said.

"Yes, my mom, Alicia, was eight when she died. She says Isabella was so much fun to be around, that it felt like everything they did would be like an adventure." Ariel grinned at some remembered recollection. "But when my mom was around six, Isabella was diagnosed. The name is too hard for me to pronounce, but I remember mom said towards the end, Isabella's body was so thin and fragile it seemed a light touch would break her." Ariel sighed. "Two years after she had been there, it seemed a new doctor made a serious error in her diagnosis and gave her wrong medication for a mild cough she had caught, and the medicine reacted with her allergies and the cancer. She died during the night."

For a moment Edward felt the breath knocked out of him.

Ariel looked down nervously, suddenly under the impression she had talked too much. Peering up at Edward, she was surprised when she noticed how heartbroken his expression became. _That's strange…_ Ariel thought, but kept it to herself. "Edward?"

The vampire's neck snapped as he met her gaze - it was amazing he didn't get whip lash.

_(The way she said his name was hauntingly similar to how Bella would call him.)_

"I'm sorry, I have to go. I have an appointment across town at the hospital. Do you live around here?" There didn't seem to be anything other than curiosity in her voice.

"No, I'm in Forks visiting only."

"Ah - Well then Edward, it was nice meeting you. Maybe I'll see you around?" Ariel gave him a simple grin, crouching down to drop the sketchbook by the flower before standing and walking off.

For a moment he looked at Ariel's retreating back, and then reached out once more to the angel's face, wishing for once it would rain. Then, before he could do anything else, began walking in theopposite direction from Ariel, moving at a fast pace to get away from the graveyard as quick as he could, his hands tightening into fists.

A strong gust of wind blew through, blowing leaves around in whirlwinds.

The flower he had placed by the angel twirled, tumbling to land somewhere around the statue, the angel itself blocking any more wind from tossing it about. The current of air had also flipped the cover of the sketch book, and the pages filled with sketches and charcoal drawings moved rapidly before the breeze ceased, and the last page drifted down gently.

A 3" by 5" photo of a seventeen year old Bella with Edward was wedged into the seam of the book, covering a small portion of the drawing below it, of a much older Isabella laid down in a large bed that seemed to engulf her, asleep as sunlight poured over her. Already in the picture she seemed to glow.

The bottom was signed with a fancy _E.C._

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Originally, the one-shot was going to be a 100-word ficlet. Yeah…. And also, the original ending was that the future he saw was Alice's premonition, though I don't know exactly how far she can see. Ha ha - this changed a lot from my original intentions. Anyway, kudos to those who know who E.C. is. Not that hard but, XD I apologize for any OOC you see. I tried my best!

Written in one shot


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